THE LEGACY ROOKIE J.J. STOKES IS PREPARING TO JOIN JERRY RICE IN THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ER LINEUP--AND TO CLAIM A PLACE IN THE TEAM'S PANTHEON OF STELLAR RECEIVERS

If the San Francisco 49ers are reluctant to dub J.J. Stokesthe next Jerry Rice, perhaps it is because that would be far toogreat a burden to place on the young man's shoulders. It mightalso be the height of irreverence--after all, Rice, going intohis 11th season, remains yards ahead of anyone else who mightclaim to be the best receiver in NFL history. But in hisprideful way Rice himself provides the most telling assessmentof Stokes. "I think," says Rice, "that if I had his size, Iwould be unstoppable."

Stokes is the 49ers' first-round draft choice out of UCLA, areceiver with whom they were so smitten that they traded away afuture first-rounder for the first time since 1978, plus thisyear's first-, third- and fourth-round picks, to move up fromthe 30th pick to the 10th overall. San Francisco lists Stokesofficially--and conservatively--at 6'4" and 217 pounds, but heis adamant that he's 6'5" (Rice is 6'2" and 200). In Stokes,quarterback Steve Young sees a target "maybe even taller thansix-five," he says, with arms so long that "he expands thepossible catching area by six feet. The future is bigger andfaster, without losing anything. With J.J., you get six-five andall of the [receiver] package, too."

"You look at him," says Rice, "and then you look at a defensiveback who is maybe five-nine trying to cover him. J.J. has theheight, the size, the speed, and he's very aggressive. It'sintimidating to opponents just to see this guy come to the lineof scrimmage."

Indeed, when Jerel Jamal Stokes made his NFL debut on Sunday inTokyo in the 49ers' American Bowl exhibition game against theDenver Broncos, he looked like a man among Munchkins in theBronco secondary. On the 15 or so routes he ran, he neverappeared to be anything but open. He caught all three passes hewas thrown--the first for 10 yards, the second for 14 (includingthe extra 10 yards he bulled for after making the catch) and thethird for 11 yards and a toe stand on the sideline.

By the second reception the 50,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome, withtheir limited understanding of American football, were wellaware of the towering gaijin wearing number 83, and agroundswell of "oooooohs" arose as he turned the crossingpattern into a big gain. When he made the sideline catch a fullcheer went up--ballet being universally appreciated--and anotherroar met the P.A. announcement of his name.

Sunday was a mere shakedown cruise for Stokes, who had been withthe 49ers only 10 days, having held out until July 27 for thecontract he wanted, a seven-year deal worth $8.45 million. Allweek during practice sessions in Tokyo, as he labored to absorbthe team playbook, Stokes had confessed to being a bitoverwhelmed. "At UCLA a few words described each play," he said."Here, it's sentences. My mind is just spinning." Pointing to anespecially daunting pass play, Stokes said, "To read it is onething, but to hear the quarterbacks say the play, so fast, isboggling. Boggling. And that's just the play; they haven't evensaid the formation yet. My main focus is learning the playbook,and then I'll start asking Jerry questions. I'll probably be hisshadow--after I learn this."

If the 49ers haven't openly proclaimed Stokes to be the nextRice, their actions shout otherwise. In their all-out blitz todraft Stokes, the Niners ignored serious needs at running back(having lost free-agent Ricky Watters to the PhiladelphiaEagles) and on the defensive line in order to further strengthenthe receiving corps of Rice and fellow veteran John Taylor.

For coach George Seifert, the choice had more to do withbolstering the foundation of the team than with filling animmediate need. "Where some clubs depend on the great runningbacks, we've always depended on the great receivers andquarterbacks," he says.

And though Seifert dismisses the Stokes-Rice comparisons as "oneof the burdens of being a Number 1 draft choice," heunderstands them. "Being with the San Francisco 49ers puts J.J.in the position where he will be following Jerry Rice," saysSeifert. "Just as Steve Young followed Joe Montana."

Unlike Rice, who started immediately back in 1985, Stokes willbe brought along at his own pace. Rice and Taylor, the bestwideout tandem in the NFL over the past seven years, willcontinue to start, and the shoes Stokes will be asked to fillmost often this season will be those of Watters, who caught 66passes coming out of the backfield in 1994. In passingsituations the rookie will join Rice and Taylor to give the 49eroffense the most daunting three-wideout set in the NFL.

As he gains experience, Stokes is at first likely to become thenext Taylor. Stokes will spend a fair amount of timeapprenticing under Taylor at split end, on the opposite side ofthe line from Rice, who normally lines up at flanker. Taylor,33, is expected to retire after this season, and he has takenthe rookie under his wing. "I am just returning something to ayounger guy that was given to me when I got here, by Jerry andby Dwight Clark," says Taylor.

Such is the almost apostolic nature of the San Franciscoreceiver tradition, which runs "as long as I can remember," saysSeifert, "all the way back to R.C. Owens," in the late 1950s.Even Rice, who still has two years left on his contract and at32 shows no sign of slowing down, is doing his part to nurturethe legacy. "When I came in," he says, "Dwight Clark and FreddieSolomon didn't show any animosity toward me. They molded me intothe player I am today. So I don't mind passing the traditiondown to J.J. We're going to work together, we're going to getbetter, and it's going to be exciting just to watch this guygrow."

Only next year, after Taylor retires, is Stokes expected tostart, in tandem with Rice. Then the comparisons are sure toabound. "Jerry Rice is the best who's ever played," says Clark,now the club's vice president for football operations. "It'shard to compare anybody with him. J.J. can make the toughcatches, he can run after he makes the catch, he's great in thered zone. Those are all things that have made Jerry thegreatest. It's hard to say if J.J. is as talented. His talentsare still developing."

Clark also points out that Stokes has deceptive speed.Translation: His time in the 40 won't earn him a spot in theNFL's Fastest Man contest. In fact, the predraft knock on Stokeswas that he was downright slow. But, says 49er receivers coachLarry Kirksey, "that's the same thing they were saying aboutJerry when he was coming out." As a prospect, Rice was timed at4.65 seconds in the 40, leaving some teams leery of theyoungster from Mississippi Valley State. This spring, word gotaround that Stokes was in the neighborhood of 4.7, though a 49erscout timed him at 4.54--not blazing, but plenty quick for theSan Francisco system.

"In this offense," Clark says of the Niners' short- tomedium-range precision passing attack, "the point is to be inthe right place and then be able to run after the catch. That'smore important than blazing speed is to, say, a Raider offense."

"It's kind of funny how people just keep mentioning my times inthe 40," says Stokes. "If they want to keep saying that, theycan. I'll be laughing in the end zone."

At UCLA, Stokes missed five games of his senior season with adeep thigh bruise, and yet he set school career records with 154catches, 2,469 yards and 28 touchdowns. "All we knew," saysClark, "was that when J.J. was in a game, [the Bruins] won, andwhen he wasn't in a game, they lost. He was the difference-maker."

"Above all, he is an exceptional runner with the ball," saysHomer Smith, Stokes's offensive coordinator during his firstthree years at UCLA and now a coach at Alabama. "I remember onegame in which he made a 90-yard run. He got halfway, stopped,shook off all the tacklers and started over again."

So what does Stokes have to do to become the next Jerry Rice?Who better to ask than the current one? "So far, what I see ishis work ethic," says the eight-time All-Pro. "If he staysfocused and continues to work, he has the attitude that's goingto get him to another level."

But can Stokes--or anyone--truly reach the level that Rice alonehas attained?

Rice ponders. "Yeah," he says. "You've always got receivers outthere who are very talented and can make the plays. And they canbreak the records. J.J. might be the guy."

COLOR PHOTO:DAVID STRICK [J.J. Stokes]COLOR PHOTO:MICHAEL ZAGARIS The knock on Stokes is that he lacks speed, but his height and reach are a quarterback's dream. [J.J. Stokes]COLOR PHOTO:PETER READ MILLER Rice is still in top form, so Stokes will have to bide his time before becoming Young's primary target. [Jerry Rice]

Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything